Chapter 27

Chloe’s POV

I had always known Drake had a wife.

That was not the truth that broke me.

I lay awake in bed long after sunrise, staring at the ceiling of the master bedroom. The room was quiet, too quiet for a house this large. Drake had left before dawn. He always did when he stayed the night. He never said goodbye. He never lingered. He always left like a man returning to another life.

I had accepted that.

Or at least I told myself I had.

I got out of bed slowly and wrapped myself in a robe. My body felt heavy, not from sleep, but from thought. I walked to the window and pulled the curtain back just enough to see outside. The guards were already in position.

I went downstairs without a destination in mind. The house smelled like fresh bread and brewed tea. It was comforting and unsettling at the same time. This place took care of me without asking who I was or what I meant to the man who owned it.

Voices drifted in from the dini